The word 新年 is formed by directly combining two independent characters, each carrying its own core meaning: 新 (xīn), which represents "new", and 年 (nián), which represents "year". The formation is a straightforward conceptual fusion, where the idea of "newness" is attached to the unit of "a year", visually and semantically merging to create the single, unified concept of a "new year", symbolizing a fresh cycle or beginning.